


A Quest of Acceptance

by Neiroel



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-22 22:10:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9627557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neiroel/pseuds/Neiroel
Summary: Elrond finds it hard to accept that Arwen wants to marry and spend her life with Aragorn.Glorfindel helps him feeling less lonely.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lynndyre](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lynndyre/gifts).



> A/N: I hope this is what you wished for, lynndyre. I apologize for any mistakes. Hopefully it does not seem too Arwen/Aragorn centred. I tried a new writing technique but I am not sure if it has the effect I wished for. Enjoy either way!

The time of the Eldar was over. Almost every day, Elves left their homes for the long journey into the West, longing for the land, untouched by evil forces.  
The choice was easy for almost all Elves, most would leave in the next months or travel Middle Earth until their journey ended in Mandos, where they would be reborn and finally meet their family and friends again in Valinor.

Arwen Undomiel, daughter of Elrond Peredhel, however was still uncertain. Aragorn bade her take the journey to Valinor and leave him and her love for him behind but how would she ever be able to do that? She would stay with Aragorn until the ending of the world, if it were possible. 

A knock sounded at her door and her father entered: “Arwen? It is time to leave, the ships are leaving for the West. If you don't go now, it will be too late.”, he spoke with a soft voice, worry in his eyes.

Arwen looked him in the eyes and sighed: “I have made my choice Adar. I have made it a long time ago.”

“He is not coming back, the war is going to demand his life, he is a ranger of the Dunedain, rangers, warriors, guards, fighters. They all die in the time of war.”

“How can you be so certain? Aragorn may be a ranger but he is also the future king of Minas Tirith, it is his destiny!”

“Because I have seen him perish during the last fight with Sauron. They are outnumbered, Saruman and Sauron have joined forces and bred ten thousands of Orcs. Do you really think that anyone fighting in that war will be able to survive it?”  
He turned his back to her to look out of the window, the sky was already getting darker and more threatening. “This is a suicide mission.”  
He closed his eyes in grief. He had sent everyone to their deaths.

It was silent for a long time and then Arwen's quiet voice filled the silence: “You only see death in my future, in all our futures. With all your foresight, Adar, you still can not see the important things. I see life, I see a child in my future.”

Arwen was getting angry, how could her father keep something like this from her? This was enough to make her hopeful again, this child stood for everything she wished for.

“Nothing is certain, not everything seen in these visions is trustworthy.”

“You have seen him too, haven't you? You have seen my son.”

“Arwen...please.”

“Why did you lie to me, Adar?”, her eyes were glowing with fury.  
At times like these, Arwen reminded Elrond of her mother, which caused his heart to ache.

“Because”, he sighed and said with a quiet voice, “I can't bear to lose you too.”

“What? You have been trying to keep me and Aragorn apart for all this time, just because you were too afraid to let me live my own life? Well, father, we will no longer be kept apart from each other. I am leaving Rivendell, that much you managed. Ill send grandmother my love from you.” 

With that she left the room, leaving Elrond alone to ponder what had happened.

Arwen left on that very evening. Her belongings had already been packed and it was an easy thing to organize a group of guards which should accompany her on the journey to Lothlorien.

Elrond watched her departure from the safety of the house with tears in his eyes. In his desperate attempt to keep Arwen close to him, he had pushed her away even further.  
It would be hard explaining this to his twin sons and Celebrian. Oh, Celebrian, what would she think of him now? He was a selfish man, who had apparently lost all love in his heart.

To ease to weight of his bad consciousness, he contacted Galadriel to inform her of Arwen's journey to Lothlorien. When she asked for more information, he pushed her out of his mind and went to sleep so he would not have to think about what had happened.

The next few days were filled with work which forced Elrond to stay up late, working and return during the early hours of the morning. He often worked the night through, else he could not manage to finish all the work piling on his desk.

After another long and particular exhausting council meeting, Elrond decided to finish reading the border reports before going to bed.  
He did not notice the eyes trained on his back as he was leaving for the study. The eyes where the azure blue eyes of his Seneschall, Glorfindel. 

Glorfindel sighed, Elrond seemed to be exhausted, his shoulders were slumped as if he carried the burden of the world on them. Ever since Arwen left, he was not seen in the Hall of Fire, enjoying the sweet music or even in library, quietly reading.  
All the things he had enjoyed doing, he stopped. If you were searching for Elrond, it would be more likely to find him in his study than in his rooms, even if it was the middle of the night.

Of course, no one but Glorfindel had noticed, but how could they. For them, Elrond was their lord, their protector but to Glorfindel he was everything.  
He was a protector and the protégée. He was a scholar and a teacher. He knew the art of healing better than anyone and in Glorfindel's mind, none could be braver than Elrond.

Glorfindel loved the Half-elf with all his heart but the heart he loved seemed to be broken, like a beautiful rose that had been stepped on and revived multiple times. This time the rose didn't seem to regain the beautiful light of life that had always shone from within.  
No one really knew what had happened between Elrond and Arwen on that evening, it was only certain that their lord had not been the same ever since.

Elrond wandered in the hallways of his home and sighed, it had been a long time since the Fellowship departed from Rivendell.  
Gandalf and Boromir had fallen, Theoden had been called to Minas Tirith after the Battle of Helms Deep was over, so much he had heard. They would need help to win that battle, the Elves sent from Lothlorien to aid with the battle at Helms Deep had all perished.  
It would not help to just send more elves, the soldiers needed to win this war were not in Middle Earth any more. 

Elrond thought back to the times where he himself had to fight Orcs under the shining banner of Gilgalad, he still had nightmares about the last battle with Sauron, of Gilgalad's torturous death.  
And then Isildur had left with the ring in his possession no, he had been in the possession of the ring.  
I had been Elrond's task to gather the remaining Noldor and care for those who wanted to follow him to Rivendell.

He suddenly noticed that his feet had taken him to where to broken shards of Narsil lay. 

That may yet be the solution, but how would the sword be brought to Aragorn. Someone with fighting experience would have to go, for the world was more dangerous than it had been for years.  
Who would have the task to ride out to Rohan, could be discussed after the swords had been repaired. He gathered the shards up and made a plan to go to the smith in the next morning.

In the night he was restless, his dreams were filled with dark images of war and then suddenly the image change and he saw himself riding on a his horse. In the far distance he saw the far silhouette of the city of Rohan, his nose registered the disgusting smell of Orc blood.

The sun beams shining on his face awoke him. The knowledge of what he had to do, was weighing heavily on his heart.  
But maybe Arwen had told Aragorn of what had happened, of what he had done. Maybe Aragorn would not accept the sword and doom everyone to death?- No, Aragorn might be stubborn, as stubborn as everyone in Elrond was, even Elrond himself, but he would never be so egotistical as to set his own opinions before the fate of everyone. 

But would he listen to Elrond's advice? Only time would tell and there was no reason to worry about it now. The sword had to be repaired and brought to Aragorn at all costs. The future of this world depended on it.

The smith assured him that she would be able to repair the sword without any problems and Elrond did not doubt her words. She was a master of her craft and had proved herself to him before.  
The difficult part was telling Glorfindel, the elf who had sworn to protect Elrond, that he was leaving. Poor, dear Glorfindel. The blond elf meant so much to Elrond. 

After Celebrian had left for Valinor, Glorfindel was the best support Elrond could have wished for. Whenever he was close, his heart was was beating faster and he felt like the worry weighing down onto his shoulder was not so heavy. 

Elrond had a small smile on his face, thinking back to the day when Glorfindel dragged him out of his stuffy study and to a small spring close to the Bruinen so he would rest for a few hours.  
That had been one of the most exciting days of his long life. Just sitting there next the beautiful Bruinen and quietly taking was more exciting than any days had every been with Celebrian, it seemed like Glorfindel and him were more alike and different than any two Elves could be yet somehow the Elf made him more happy than anything. 

Yet he had not been able to gather up the courage to confess his love...love, yes that is what is was, but he was sure, that the love he felt was not reciprocated.  
Glorfindel still seemed to be suffering of nightmares and guilt because of his rebirth. He had so many tasks as the Seneschall of Imladris that there just did not seem to be time for him to fall in love with anyone and definitely not Elrond, his protégé.

Elrond could not survive another rejection, he was sure of that.  
After Arwen left, he realised that his fear of losing more people actually destroyed his friendships and relationships.  
Elladan and Elrohir had realised that a long time ago, when they had left Imladris to hunt Orcs, as they said. They had returned once or twice to restock their supplies or recover from a wound.  
Every time they left, they broke Elrond's heart once again.  
That broken heart was only held together by the strong bonds of Glorfindel's loving friendship. Were he to lose that, he would most likely fade.  
Elrond shook his head to cast these dark thoughts aside.  
He would only have to tell Glorfindel that he was riding to Rohan and he would keep the reasons to himself.

It was getting dark outside and most Elves were going to bed or at least retiring to their rooms. Elrond was on his way to Glorfindel's rooms when he met the smith in the corridor. She gave him the new sword with a light smile:  
“Its name is Anduril, the flame of the west. May it and its bearer change the world for better.”

He thanked her and brought the beautifully crafted sword into his own rooms and then returned to Glorfindel's rooms. He stood in front of the door for a while, considering which words to use and how to explain why Elrond had to go. 

No, Glorfindel would want to go himself but Elrond could not allow that to happen. He decided to not tell him about his plan. He quickly went back to his rooms and wrote a short letter to Glorfindel, telling him where he was going.  
After a short period of consideration, he decided against writing a letter confessing his love to Glorfindel in case Elrond would not return to Imladris. These letters where always dangerous and he could not risk it being found.

Only a few hours later, Elrond was on the rode. His horse was running as fast as it could, it seemed to feel the urgency he felt.  
The journey itself was uneventful, most Orcs had either gone into hiding or been killed in the last battles.

A week later, he finally arrived in Rohan. He and his horse were exhausted, he did not have any food left and then he noticed, that the city was almost empty.

“They all left”, he heard a small, frail voice say. Elrond turned quickly and saw and old grey woman hiding in the shadows.

“Left? Have they gone already?”, he asked, worry in his voice.

Elrond knew where Theoden would expect his armies to gather and the ride was not too long, he should be there in less than two days. He softly stroked his horse's hair:  
“Two more days, will you hold out for two more days? We will have a short rest and then hurry to give Aragorn his new sword.” His horse softly nuzzled his hand and Elrond smiled. “Lets rest then.”

He was allowed to spend the night with his horse in the stables and the old woman brought both of them dinner and more rations for the next days. She seemed to know that the quest Elrond wanted to finish was one that would determine the fate of Rohan.

His estimate had been correct, in the night of the second day, he arrived near the mountains, on top of which he could see the kings tent. Only a few minutes more and he was brought to the kings tent. The king was scared, it was easily seen in the he paced when Elrond entered.

“And who are you? You walk into my tent, face hidden by a cloak, do you think this behaviour will be accepted?”

“My name is Elrond Peredhel and I expect to meet someone who has been serving under your name for the last special. Bring Aragorn to this tent, please.”

“Elrond Peredhel? The lord of Rivendell? I will have Aragorn brought here immediately. Please take a seat while we are waiting.”

Elrond was quite thankful for the opportunity to sit down and rest for a moment. The journey had exhausted him and he was looking forward to be able to sleep for an entire night.  
Aragorn entered the tent and it was obvious that he too was troubled. He seemed confused to see him sitting in front of him. Elrond than remembered that he was still wearing the hood and got up and revealed himself. 

“My lord Elrond!”, Aragorn took a step back in shock, confusion written more clearly on his face.  
Then suddenly all the worry and hurt reappeared in Elrond's heart:

“I come on the behalf of the one whom I love.”, which was true. 

He came because he loved Arwen, because he wanted her to be happy and now he saw that the only way she could achieve happiness was by loving and staying with Aragorn.

He presented the sword and advised Aragorn to go to the Path of the dead. He did not seem to agree but the worry shining from his eyes convinced him.

Elrond got up and took one last look at the man in front of him:

“Aragorn. Please be careful.”

“I will be Adar.”

He smiled and left the tent. This had not been as hard as Elrond had expected it to be. The journey had been more exhausting than the actual conversation.

He decided not to take the journey back to Rivendell, he found his way to the Fangorn forest and he and his horse were taken care of by the Ents. 

While the world of Arda kept spinning, Elrond was in his own little world with the Ents, sleeping or resting, hearing the stories that the Ents had to tell.  
The message of the destruction of the ring and the coronation of Aragorn shook him out of his own world and back into the world of Arda. 

He rode to Minas Tirith as fast as he could, so he would not miss it, he could not miss it. He wanted to see them and he hoped to see Glorfindel there, Glorfindel would not miss the coronation would he?

He was sure that his horse hated him by now, he had pushed it and himself to the brink of exhaustion.

He fell asleep on his horse and when he woke up, his horse was walking slowly towards the city of Minas Tirith. They had arrived. 

Everything was decorated with flowers and the city was almost empty but he could still hear a crowd. He saw a few children running up a path with flowers in their hands. Elrond decided to follow them on foot, his horse happily stayed behind to rest.  
He soon found the big crowd, they were gathered around the White Tree of Gondor and everyone seemed to whisper quietly among themselves. 

Elrond spotted the banner of Imladris in the crowd and slowly made his way towards it. He saw the Elves wearing white robes and smiling happily, Glorfindel seemed to be there as well, wearing a very light blue robe and the circlet that Elrond had gifted him for his birthday a few years ago. 

He suddenly felt very inappropriate with his dirty dark blue cloak. His skin was sweaty and his hair had so many knots that it would be impossible to run a comb through it. No, he could not show himself to anyone, he would have to stay in the background and watch from there.

He smiled when he heard Aragorn sing and then realised that Arwen was hiding behind the banner, unsure whether to go to Aragorn or not.  
That was the moment when Elrond decided to go to his daughter, most of the Elves recognized him immediately and let him go through, Glorfindel looked at him with an unbelieving look on his face.

Elrond ignored him, this was more important right now. He but his hand on Arwen's shoulder and waited for her to face him. Before she could say anything he just smiled:

“Go to him, Arwen. Go to him and live your life.”

She grinned at him, not quite believing what she just heard and ran towards Aragorn.  
Glorfindel took in Elrond's dishevelled appearance and laughed softly: 

“My lord, a dwarf looks more like an Elven Lord than you do right now.”

Elrond too, laughed. They retired soon after the coronation, Elrond bathed and combed his hair. Glorfindel gave him one of his spare robes and now both of them sat on a balcony in Minas Tirith watching the sunset.

“Glorfindel, do you think that Elladan and Elrohir will come with us to Valinor?” Elrond suddenly asked, voice unusually quiet and unsure.

“I don’t know, Elrond. I am really not sure. They have always had wild spirits, the thought of an eternity of resting might not agree with that.”

Elrond closed his eyes. He had suspected that too but hearing someone else saying those thoughts…  
So he would lose them too, he would lose his wonderful twin sons. Tears were forming behind his closed eyes and running down his cheeks.

He took a shaky breath in and looked at Glorfindel:  
“I cant do it, I can live like this. I can not live an eternity alone like this!”

“You will have Celebrian, together the to of you will be able to survive, I am sure of it.”  
\- “No, Glorfindel, you do not understand. Celebrian has sundered our vows before she stepped on the ship that would bring her to Valinor. I will be alone, I have no one else left.”,  
The last sentence he said so quietly that Glorfindel almost did not hear it. He wrapped his arms around Elrond and held him close without saying a word.  
Elrond sobbed in his arms until the moon was high in the sky and they were illuminated by the light of the stars.  
When his lord had quieted down and breathed in small, shaking breaths, Glorfindel eased is arms away from him and wiped the remaining tears from his face. 

“My lord, Elrond, you will survive and you may never forget that you are loved by all those who surround you. I haven’t had the courage to tell you this yet, but I think, the right time has come. I love you with all the strength that my heart can muster up, not only as a friend but also as someone how has wished to spend his life, love and body with you for a long time now. Please do not forget that, please know that you are not alone.”

That was the first time that hope was shining from Elrond's eyes in a long time. He smiled and buried his face in Glorfindel's strong embrace. They spend the night on the balcony, locked in an embrace that not even the Valar could have broken. And so it came that the stars were the witness to their first kiss.

 

The End.


End file.
